TUESDAY 30th April- SYMPOSIUM FOR DIETITIANS
A specialist symposium for dieticians will take place on Tuesday 30th April, Clyde Court Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.
• Body Weight and Body Composition Throughout the Life Cycle is the title of the symposium, Organised by The Irish Nutrition & Dietetic Institute (INDI) in association with the National Dairy Council (NDC).
• The plenary session includes a superb overseas speaker, Dr. Marta Van Loan who is a Research Physiologist from the US Department of Agriculture – Western Human Nutrition Research Centre.
• The symposium also includes three different sessions to reflect the life stages, with one on Childhood, one on Adulthood and one on the Older Person. The speakers include Fiona Ward, Acting Dieticians Manager, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital; Cathy Breen, Senior Dieticians in Diabetes and Weight Management, St. Columcille's Hospital; Catherine Norton, Dieticians, University of Limerick & Accredited Sports Nutritionist.
• Media Meet & Greet opportunity for media with Speakers: 5.00pm – 5.45pm

WEDNESDAY 1st May - NDC MILK IT AWARDS NATIONAL FINALS
95 teenagers on 20 teams have been short listed for this year’s national finals of the NDC Milk It Awards for secondary school students.
• It takes place on Wednesday 1st May 2013 in the Round Room, adjacent to the Mansion House, Dublin 2.
• The schools will exhibit projects from 10am, make a live pitch to the judges from 10.40am, and then a further short listed top 5 will present on stage to the judges from 1.30pm. It is expected that the national winners will be announced between 2.30pm – 3.00pm.
• If we can help you with any media information in relation to this year's event or if you would like to talk with a nutritionist about the rationale behind this national initiative at any stage, please let me know.
• Further details at www.milkitawards.ie

THURSDAY 2nd May - NDC ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The NDC Annual Conference 2013 is “Irish Dairy – Fit for Purpose”
• The NDC conference takes place on the afternoon of Thursday 2nd May in the Round Room, adjacent to the Mansion House, Dublin 2. Arrival and registration from 1.45pm, speeches and proceedings start 2.30pm
• Minister Simon Coveney T.D. is scheduled to deliver the opening address, with an overview of CAP Negotiations and the Implications for Ireland.
• The consumer panel will be chaired by Richard Curran (business journalist and broadcaster/presenter of Dragons Den). It will include presentations by
o Donal Courtney, Managing Director, Danone Ireland (From Quality Irish Pastures to Global Nutrition)
o Ciaran Fitzgerald, Economist (The Importance of Dairy to the Irish Economy)
o Eamon Howell, Director, Musgrave Ireland (Local Sourcing Strategy, Irish Retail)

The National Dairy Council & Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards set out to identify and to reward the top dairy farmer in the Republic of Ireland.

The Awards create an opportunity to showcase to consumers the excellence of our pasture-based dairy farming whilst helping to build awareness about the dairy farmers in the Republic of Ireland who are behind our local dairy brands.

The competition, known as “The Sam Maguire of Farming,” also identifies dairy farmers who are role models to others, providing a platform for co-ops to highlight to their own suppliers the technical requirements, standards and techniques which drive top quality milk production.

Dairy co-operatives in the Republic of Ireland are invited to nominate their top suppliers for the 2013 NDC & Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards, with a closing date for entries of 30th April, 2013. Entry forms are available HERE.

It is at the discretion of the judges each year to select whether category prizes will be awarded for titles such as sustainability, animal welfare, care of the environment – or whether to present national category awards for either a manufacturing or liquid milk supplier.

Foxpop is a Dublin-based project attempting to gather data on the urban fox. Through the use of social media – Facebook and Twitter – plus a dedicated website with a map of the city showing where all sightings have been recorded, Foxpop hopes to ascertain where there are large numbers of foxes living in and around Dublin’s city centre.

In addition to this, the accumulation of data on the urban fox will be analysed in terms of how involved and engaged the public are willing to get in a citizen science project of this nature as well as gauging public opinion on the growing number of these mammals living in our towns and cities.

The urban fox is a controversial character. Some urban dwellers consider them wildlife and gladly leave out food and allow them to live in their gardens or parks. Others, however, see them as vermin and a threat to human health, particularly after the recent tragedy in London when an infant’s finger was bitten off by an urban fox who entered the kitchen of someone’s home.

Foxpop is aiming to understand how the urban fox has become so comfortable with their environment that they are now prepared to walk into a person’s home without fear of retribution from humans.

Project coordinator:
John Holden is a freelance science journalist who has worked in radio and print media for the last ten years. He is currently undertaking a Masters in Science Communications at Dublin City University.

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